


Day 29 - Adrift

by moonblossom



Series: Pre-Nickels Nickels 30 Day Challenge [29]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Melancholy, Plans For The Future, Separation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 06:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2537522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/pseuds/moonblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because they're all going in different directions doesn't mean they'll stop being friends, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.</p>
<p>
  <a href="http://wintergrey.dreamwidth.org/15168.html">Day 29: Plans for the Future</a>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 29 - Adrift

The strange circumstances of their discharge hung over the house like a blanket. Owen had already scampered off to the west coast for a job interview he wouldn't tell anyone about, Digger was in the process of packing up to head back into the bayou. Ty would no doubt be going back to his family in the mountains until he rolled, tumbled, and bounced back onto his feet like he always did. Eli was hovering, fussing over everyone and still unsure of what he was going to do with himself.

Kelly and Nick were sitting on the back porch. It was the middle of the afternoon, and it felt strange to be sitting there and not doing anything productive. Nick had his bare feet up on the railing, his chair tipped back, and he was chewing on a toothpick. To anyone else, he would have been the picture of relaxation, but Kelly knew there was something simmering right under the surface of his skin.

For a while, neither of them said a word. Kelly was full to bursting with questions, both about himself and about Nick, but he would wait until Nick was ready to talk.

Nick flipped the toothpick with his lips and Kelly could see how mangled the end was. He sighed, realising Nick wouldn't open up unless forced to.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do?" _Now that we've got no jobs and a suspicious amount of money_ hung unspoken between them. Unanimously, they'd already decided not to talk about it more than necessary, even without having signed orders to that effect.

Nick mangled the toothpick for a moment longer before turning his head to look at Kelly.

"I was thinking of heading back to Boston."

That caught Kelly by surprise. Nick had always been reticent about what was waiting for him back in Boston, but they all knew it wasn't pleasant. His relationship with his family was fractured at best, and Kelly was certain his joking asides about the mob weren't really as much of a joke as he let on. The shock must have been clear on his face, because Nick chuckled quietly.

"I was thinking of becoming a detective, actually. Seeing if I can do some good. Not everyone in Boston is shit, you know?"

Kelly nodded. That was something he could see Nick doing. The righteous man, fighting for the side of good. Not so different from now, really.

"You gonna buy a house?"

Nick shook his head. "I was thinking I might buy a boat." 

"Go fishing on the weekends?" Kelly was a bit thrown by the non-sequitur.

"No, a yacht. to live on. Not too big, not too flashy. Something with no roots."

"A yacht?!" Of all the things Kelly had been expecting, that was probably the last.

But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Nick always had an inexplicable pull to the sea. Kelly's mind drifted back to images of Nick, smiling and sun burnt and shirtless, standing on the deck of an LST with the salt spray in his face. He'd rarely seen Nick look as _at home_ as he had in those moments.

"That," he said quietly, nodding. "That makes sense."

Nick smiled at him and threw the toothpick over the railing. "What about you, Doc? You making any grand plans?" He said it wryly, knowing as well as Kelly did that Kelly _never_ made any grand plans. He was much happier just rolling with whatever life threw at him.

"Not sure yet. I'm thinking of going back to Colorado, spending more time at the camp."

Nick reached out and gripped his arm, squeezing fondly. "You'd do good there, Kels."

"Thanks. I was also thinking of building a cabin. Getting dirty again."

Nick choked slightly. "Babe, you're always dirty."

Kelly grinned and waggled his eyebrows salaciously, and Nick snorted out a laugh.

"It's going to suck, though..." Kelly sighed.

Nick raised one eyebrow. "What will?"

Kelly looked away from him, uncomfortable with the weird fluttering in his chest. These five men had been his friends, his family, his only support structure for years. Of course the idea of being separated was going to hurt, right?

"Being so far away. We'll be all over the fucking place."

Nick reached over and patted his knee comfortingly. He left his hand there, letting the warmth of it seep into Kelly's leg. Kelly smiled.

"Bullshit," Nick said, his voice quiet but determined. "If you think you jerks will be rid of me that easy... We'll just all have to make a bit of an effort."

Kelly nodded. It would be no effort on his part. It would have been more difficult to stay away. Without thinking, he leaned over and rested his head against Nick's shoulder. Nick threw an arm around him and squeezed, the motion no doubt comforting them both.

Kelly sat up and grinned. If Nick had brought up buying a boat, no doubt he'd already sunk himself into research. He may have even had one picked out already. Kelly poked him in the side.

"Come on inside and show me some boats, Lucky."

Nick made an irritated face, but he stood up and smiled at Kelly, his green eyes brighter and more alight than Kelly had seen them in days. Maybe this wouldn't be the end of the world after all.


End file.
